Achieving activity centric computing using portable containers

ABSTRACT

A method, system and computer program product for achieving activity centric computing. An activity (e.g., opening an application, opening an electronic communication, initiating a printing action, initiating a browsing session) performed by a user on a computing device is detected. In response to detecting the activity, the runtime environment is captured and the session workflow associated with the detected activity is recorded. The session workflow refers to the events performed by the user on the computing device in connection with performing an activity (e.g., application usage, web browsing) on the computing device. The captured runtime environment and the recorded session workflow associated with the detected activity are stored in a portable container. After receiving an indication to share the activity, an image of the container is created and stored in a repository to be shared among users to replay the session workflow associated with the activity.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to activity centric computing,and more particularly to achieving activity central computing usingportable containers.

BACKGROUND

Activity centric computing, sometimes referred to as activity basedcomputing, is a computing paradigm in which human activities, as opposedto applications or documents, become the central focus. For example, inactivity centric computing, context switching occurs between activities(e.g., web browsing, electronic communication) as opposed to betweenprocesses or threads.

In recent years, there has been an effort to achieve activity centriccomputing with minimal success, in part, because of the design ofcurrent operating systems. Current operating systems are designed aroundsoftware system entities, such as windows, files, processes, etc. whichmakes it difficult to implement an activity centric computingenvironment.

As a result, there is not currently a means for implementing asuccessful activity centric computing environment.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the present invention, a computer-implementedmethod for achieving activity centric computing comprises detecting anactivity performed by a user on a computing device. The method furthercomprises capturing a runtime environment and recording a sessionworkflow associated with the detected activity in response to detectingthe activity performed by the user on the computing device, where thesession workflow comprises a flow of events performed by the user on thecomputing device. The method additionally comprises storing the capturedruntime environment and the recorded session workflow associated withthe detected activity in a container. Furthermore, the method comprisescreating an image of the container. Additionally, the method comprisessaving the container image in a repository to be shared among users.

Other forms of the embodiment of the method described above are in asystem and in a computer program product.

The foregoing has outlined rather generally the features and technicaladvantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention in orderthat the detailed description of the present invention that follows maybe better understood. Additional features and advantages of the presentinvention will be described hereinafter which may form the subject ofthe claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system for practicing the principlesof the present invention in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention of a hardwareconfiguration of a computing device which is representative of ahardware environment for practicing the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates the software components of the portable container inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for achieving activity centriccomputing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for sharing the activity contextstored within the portable container image in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for appending events to the sessionworkflow from new interactions in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention comprises a method, system and computer programproduct for achieving activity centric computing. In one embodiment ofthe present invention, an activity (e.g., opening an application,opening an electronic communication, initiating a printing action,initiating a browsing session) performed by a user on a computing deviceis detected. In response to detecting the activity, the runtimeenvironment is captured and the session workflow associated with thedetected activity is recorded. The captured runtime environment includesthe application operating runtime with the required applicationcomponents. Furthermore, the session workflow refers to the eventsperformed by the user on the computing device in connection withperforming an activity (e.g., application usage, web browsing, printing,electronic communication) on the computing device. The captured runtimeenvironment and the recorded session workflow associated with thedetected activity are stored in a portable container. A portablecontainer is a lightweight, standalone, executable package of softwarethat includes everything needed to run an application: code, operatingruntime, system tools, system libraries and settings. Furthermore, theportable container packages code and dependencies together. As a result,the portable container contains the application components, operatingruntime, checkpoints (the session workflow is marked by multiplecheckpoints set by the user during the session) and the recorded sessionworkflow. After receiving an indication to share the activity, an imageof the container is created. An “image,” as used herein, refers to anexact copy of the portable container. The portable container image isthen stored in a repository to be shared among users, includingdifferent users (i.e., different users from the user whose activity wasrecorded). By saving the portable container image in the repository, theportable container image can be checked out by users to replay thesession workflow associated with the activity. In this manner, asuccessful activity centric computing environment is achieved byallowing context switching to occur between activities.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order notto obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the mostpart, details considering timing considerations and the like have beenomitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a completeunderstanding of the present invention and are within the skills ofpersons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

Referring now to the Figures in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodimentof the present invention of a communication system 100 for practicingthe principles of the present invention in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. Communication system 100 includes computingdevices 101A-101C (identified as “Computing Device A,” “Computing DeviceB,” and “Computing Device C,” respectively, in FIG. 1 ) connected to acontainer repository 102 via a network 103. Computing devices 101A-101Cmay collectively or individually be referred to as computing devices 101or computing device 101, respectively. It is noted that both computingdevices 101 and the users of computing devices 101 may be identifiedwith element number 101.

Computing devices 101 may each have the functionality of achievingactivity centric computing utilizing containers, referred to herein as“portable containers.” Such containers are lightweight containers (e.g.,Docker® containers) that share the computing device's operating systemkernel and therefore do not require an operating system per application.Furthermore, as discussed in further detail below, such containers storea captured runtime environment as well as a recorded session workflowassociated with a detected activity. An image of these containers may bestored in container repository 102 by a user of computing device 101(e.g., computing device 101A) to be shared among other users, such asusers of computing devices 101B, 101C.

Computing device 101 may be any type of computing device (e.g., portablecomputing unit, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), laptop computer,mobile device, tablet personal computer, smartphone, mobile phone,navigation device, gaming unit, desktop computer system, workstation,Internet appliance and the like) configured with the capability ofconnecting to network 103 and consequently communicating with othercomputing devices 101 and repository 102. A description of the hardwareconfiguration of computing device 101 is provided below in connectionwith FIG. 2 .

Network 103 may be, for example, a local area network, a wide areanetwork, a wireless wide area network, a circuit-switched telephonenetwork, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, aWireless Application Protocol (WAP) network, a WiFi network, an IEEE802.11 standards network, various combinations thereof, etc. Othernetworks, whose descriptions are omitted here for brevity, may also beused in conjunction with system 100 of FIG. 1 without departing from thescope of the present invention.

In communication system 100, computing devices 101A-101C include asoftware component, referred to herein as the activity engine 104A-104C,respectively. Activity engines 104A-104C may collectively orindividually be referred to as activity engines 104 or activity engine104, respectively. As discussed in further detail below, activity engine104 enables activity centric computing on computing device 101.

System 100 is not to be limited in scope to any one particular networkarchitecture. System 100 may include any number of computing devices101, repositories 102 and networks 103.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration ofcomputing device 101 (FIG. 1 ) which is representative of a hardwareenvironment for practicing the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 ,computing device 101 has a processor 201 coupled to various othercomponents by system bus 202. An operating system 203 runs on processor201 and provides control and coordinates the functions of the variouscomponents of FIG. 2 . An application 204 in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention runs in conjunction with operatingsystem 203 and provides calls to operating system 203 where the callsimplement the various functions or services to be performed byapplication 204. Application 204 may include, for example, a program,such as activity engine 104, for achieving activity centric computing asdiscussed further below in connection with FIGS. 3-6 .

Referring again to FIG. 2 , read-only memory (“ROM”) 205 is coupled tosystem bus 202 and includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of computing device 101. Random accessmemory (“RAM”) 206 and disk adapter 207 are also coupled to system bus202. It should be noted that software components including operatingsystem 203 and application 204 may be loaded into RAM 206, which may becomputing device's 101 main memory for execution. Disk adapter 207 maybe an integrated drive electronics (“IDE”) adapter that communicateswith a disk unit 208, e.g., disk drive.

Computing device 101 may further include a communications adapter 209coupled to bus 202. Communications adapter 209 interconnects bus 202with an outside network (e.g., network 103 of FIG. 1 ) thereby enablingcomputing device 101 to communicate with other devices (e.g., computingdevices 101 and repository 102 of FIG. 1 ).

I/O devices may also be connected to computing device 101 via a userinterface adapter 210 and a display adapter 211. Keyboard 212, mouse 213and speaker 214 may all be interconnected to bus 202 through userinterface adapter 210. A display monitor 215 may be connected to systembus 202 by display adapter 211. In this manner, a user is capable ofinputting to computing device 101 through keyboard 212 or mouse 213 andreceiving output from computing device 101 via display 215 or speaker214. Other input mechanisms may be used to input data to computingdevice 101 that are not shown in FIG. 2 , such as display 215 havingtouch-screen capability and keyboard 212 being a virtual keyboard.Computing device 101 of FIG. 2 is not to be limited in scope to theelements depicted in FIG. 2 and may include fewer or additional elementsthan depicted in FIG. 2 .

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

As stated in the Background section, activity centric computing,sometimes referred to as activity based computing, is a computingparadigm in which human activities, as opposed to applications ordocuments, become the central focus. For example, in activity centriccomputing, context switching occurs between activities (e.g., webbrowsing, electronic communication) as opposed to between processes orthreads. In recent years, there has been an effort to achieve activitycentric computing with minimal success, in part, because of the designof current operating systems. Current operating systems are designedaround software system entities, such as windows, files, processes, etc.which makes it difficult to implement an activity centric computingenvironment. As a result, there is not currently a means forimplementing a successful activity centric computing environment.

The embodiments of the present invention provide a means forimplementing a successful activity centric computing environment via theuse of portable containers as discussed further below in connection withFIGS. 3-6 . FIG. 3 illustrates the software components of the portablecontainer. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for achieving activitycentric computing. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for sharing theactivity context stored within the portable container image. FIG. 6 is aflowchart of a method for appending events to the session workflow fromnew interactions.

As stated above, FIG. 3 illustrates the software components of aportable container 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in one embodiment, portable container 300 (e.g.,Docker® container) is a lightweight, standalone, executable package ofsoftware that includes everything needed to run an application: code,operating runtime, system tools, system libraries and settings. Portablecontainer 300 packages code and dependencies (when a piece of softwarerelies on another one) together. Furthermore, as discussed furtherbelow, portable container 300 includes a captured runtime environmentand a recorded session workflow associated with a detected activity. Thecaptured runtime environment includes the application operating runtimewith the required application components. The session workflow, as usedherein, refers to the events performed by the user on computing device101 in connection with performing an activity (e.g., application usage,web browsing, printing, electronic communication) on computing device101. The activity can then be executed on any computing device 101 sincethe activity is executed on the underlying operating runtime container(containerized operating system). That is, the session workflow can beexecuted on any operating system in a container image (discussed furtherbelow) that contains the application components, operating runtime(execution environment provided to the process by the operating system),checkpoints (discussed further below) and the recorded session workflow.

In one embodiment, portable container 300 resides in the user space ofthe virtual memory. A conventional operating system 203 (FIG. 2 )usually segregates the virtual memory into user space and kernel space.User space is the memory area where all user mode applications work;whereas, kernel space is strictly reserved for running the kernel,kernel extensions, and most device drivers.

As shown in FIG. 3 , portable container 300 includes an event recorder301. Event recorder 301 is configured to record the session workflowassociated with an activity detected by activity engine 104. Asdiscussed above, the session workflow refers to the events performed bythe user on computing device 101 in connection with performing anactivity (e.g., application usage, web browsing, printing, electroniccommunication) on computing device 101. Such events are tracked andrecorded by event recorder 301. In one embodiment, the session workflowis marked by multiple checkpoints set by user 101 during the session. Inone embodiment, these multiple checkpoints are progressively set by user101 during the session. In one embodiment, these checkpoints establishintervals of recorded time requiring the user's consent to record suchintervals.

Portable container 300 further includes an event store 302 configure tostore the recorded session workflow. That is, the recorded flow ofevents is stored in event store 302. In one embodiment, event store 302further stores the captured runtime environment, including theapplication operating runtime with the required application components.Hence, in one embodiment, event store 302 stores the applicationcomponents, the operating runtime, the checkpoints and the recordedworkflow, all of which are used to replay the recorded activity.

Such recorded flow of events can be replayed by the same (referring tothe user whose events were recorded) or a different user 101 usingportable container 300 as discussed below in connection with FIG. 4 .

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 for achieving activity centriccomputing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3 , in step 401,activity engine 104 detects an activity performed by a user on computingdevice 101. In one embodiment, such detection may occur in response todetecting an action associated the activity (e.g., opening anapplication, opening an electronic communication, initiating a printingaction, initiating a browsing session). In one embodiment, the actionsassociated with the activity may be stored in a data structure stored ina storage unit of computing system 101 (e.g., memory 205, disk unit208). In one embodiment, the activities to be detected by activityengine 104 may be defined by user 101. In one embodiment, suchactivities may be user specified at the time of initiating the activity(e.g., web browsing). For example, user 101 may inform activity engine104 to capture the session workflow, such as at the beginning of theuser starting this activity (e.g., web browsing).

In step 402, in response to detecting an activity performed by a user oncomputing device 101, activity engine 104 captures a runtime environmentand records a session workflow associated with the detected activity. Asdiscussed above, the captured runtime environment includes theapplication operating runtime with the required application components.Furthermore, as discussed above, the session workflow refers to theevents performed by the user on computing device 101 in connection withperforming an activity (e.g., application usage, web browsing, printing,electronic communication) on computing device 101. In one embodiment,the session workflow is recorded by event recorder 301 and later storedin event store 302. As discussed above, the session workflow may bemarked by multiple checkpoints (progressively) set by user 101 duringthe session. These checkpoints may establish intervals of recorded timerequiring the user's consent to record such intervals. By capturing theruntime environment and recording the session workflow associated withthe detected activity, the context of the activity, including eventsperformed by the user across different application instances, can berecorded within a single activity container.

In step 403, activity engine 104 stores the captured runtime environmentand the recorded session workflow associated with the detected activityin portable container 300, such as in event store 302. As discussedabove, portable container 300 is a lightweight, standalone, executablepackage of software that includes everything needed to run anapplication: code, operating runtime, system tools, system libraries andsettings. Furthermore, portable container 300 packages code anddependencies together. As a result, portable container 300 contains theapplication components, operating runtime, checkpoints and the recordedsession workflow.

In step 404, activity engine 104 receives an indication to share thedetected activity. In one embodiment, activity engine 104 receives suchan indication from the user of computing device 101 whose activity wasdetected in step 401. For example, the user may indicate via a userinterface of computing device 101 for activity engine 104 to share thedetected activity, whether with the user or a different user.

In step 405, activity engine 104, in response to receiving an indicationto share the detected activity, creates an image of portable container300. An “image,” as used herein, refers to an exact copy of portablecontainer 300.

In step 406, activity engine 104 saves the external dependencies ofapplications running in portable container 300 in an external dependencymap, which may be stored in repository 102 along with the containerimage (discussed below). In one embodiment, the external dependencies ofthe applications running in portable container 300 are saved in theexternal dependency map when the image of portable container 300 iscreated. As discussed further below, the external dependencies arechecked before loading a saved container image in a computingenvironment. These dependencies are necessary to ensure applications runproperly as some of the code may rely on other pieces of code, and suchpieces of code need to be known.

In step 407, activity engine 104 saves the portable container image inrepository 102 to be shared among users, including different users(i.e., different users from the user whose activity was recorded). Bysaving the portable container image in repository 102, the portablecontainer image can be checked out by users of computing devices 101. Inthis manner, a successful activity centric computing environment isachieved by allowing context switching to occur between activities. Inone embodiment, the user who shares the activity can set read/writeaccess for users or groups.

The activity context stored within the portable container image can beshared as discussed below in FIG. 5 .

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method 500 for sharing the activity contextstored within the portable container image in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , in conjunction with FIGS. 1-4 , in step 501,activity engine 104 receives a request to download a container imagefrom user 101. In one embodiment, the user may indicate such a requestvia a user interface of computing device 101.

In step 502, activity engine 104 checks the external dependencies beforeloading a saved container image in a computing environment to ensurethat the applications in the portable container image run properly. Asdiscussed above, these dependencies are necessary to ensure applicationsrun properly as some of the code may rely on other pieces of code, andsuch pieces of code need to be known.

In step 503, activity engine 104 loads the container image in thecomputing environment of computing device 101 (computing device of therequesting user) to replay the session workflow associated with theactivity. In this manner, the present invention achieves activitycentric computing by allowing context switching to occur betweenactivities.

In one embodiment, the user may be the same or different user whoseactivity was recorded. In the situation of where a user (e.g., user ofcomputing device 101B) replays the session workflow associated with anactivity of another user (e.g., user of computing device 101A), the user(e.g., user of computing device 101B) may be able to replay the eventsassociated with the activity without any previous knowledge of thesequence of the activity and obtain a quick grasp of the context of theactivity.

In one embodiment, the user of computing device 101 may choose to viewthe entire session workflow or jump across the checkpoints to obtain aquick view of the session workflow. In one embodiment, the sharedactivity can be loaded and resumed from where it had been stopped, suchas in the situation when the user requests to replay the sessionworkflow of its own recorded activity.

For example, a user, such as a developer, may want to capture theworkflow that occurs when the user is debugging some legacy code toidentify the source of a failure. At times, the debugging requiresmultiple sessions of debugging to attempt to identify the root cause ofthe failure. As a result, the user can start the debugging process bymarking the start of an active session thereby replaying the sessionworkflow at that point.

After replaying the session workflow, the user may append events to thesession workflow from new interactions, where the updated sessionworkflow is stored in the portable container image (event store 302),which is stored in repository 102 to be shared among users 101 asdiscussed below in connection with FIG. 6 .

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method 600 for appending events to thesession workflow from new interactions in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6 , in conjunction with FIGS. 1-5 , in step 601,activity engine 104 determines whether user 101 performs any furtherevents in response to replaying the session workflow.

If user 101 does not perform any further activity, then activity engine104 continues to determine whether user 101 performs any further eventsin response to replaying the session workflow in step 601.

If, however, user 101 performs further events, then, in step 602,activity engine 104 records those events in the portable containerimage. That is, activity engine 104 appends the new events from the newinteractions to the session workflow saved in the portable containerimage.

In step 603, activity engine 104 saves the portable container image withthe newly recorded interactions in repository 102 to be shared amongusers 101, including other users.

As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention implement asuccessful activity centric computing environment via the use of aportable container that contains the application components, operatingruntime, checkpoints and a recorded workflow session associated with anactivity performed by the user on the computing device. The portablecontainer is a lightweight, standalone, executable package of softwarethat includes everything needed to run an application: code, operatingruntime, system tools, system libraries and settings. An image of theportable container is created and stored in a repository to enable thesharing of the activity among users.

Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention improve thefunctionality or capability of computing systems by enabling contextswitching between activities as opposed to between processes or threads.Users typically spend very little continuous time on a single activityand many users experience frequent interruptions to their workflow. Byachieving activity centric computing by enabling context switchingbetween activities, computing systems may be able to more efficientlyfacilitate human activities thereby more efficiently utilizing computingresources (e.g., processing resources).

Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention improve the technologyor technical field involving activity centric computing. As discussedabove, activity centric computing, sometimes referred to as activitybased computing, is a computing paradigm in which human activities, asopposed to applications or documents, become the central focus. Forexample, in activity centric computing, context switching occurs betweenactivities (e.g., web browsing, electronic communication) as opposed tobetween processes or threads. In recent years, there has been an effortto achieve activity centric computing with minimal success, in part,because of the design of current operating systems. Current operatingsystems are designed around software system entities, such as windows,files, processes, etc. which makes it difficult to implement an activitycentric computing environment. As a result, there is not currently ameans for implementing a successful activity centric computingenvironment. Embodiments of the present invention improve suchtechnology by implementing a successful activity centric computingenvironment via the use of a portable container that contains theapplication components, operating runtime, checkpoints and a recordedworkflow session associated with an activity performed by the user onthe computing device. The portable container is a lightweight,standalone, executable package of software that includes everythingneeded to run an application: code, operating runtime, system tools,system libraries and settings. An image of the portable container iscreated and stored in a repository to enable the sharing of the activityamong users. By successfully implementing activity centric computing,there is an improvement in the technical field of activity centriccomputing.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for achievingactivity centric computing, the method comprising: detecting an activityperformed by a user on a computing device; capturing a runtimeenvironment and recording a session workflow associated with saiddetected activity in response to detecting said activity performed bysaid user on said computing device, wherein said session workflowcomprises a flow of events performed by said user on said computingdevice; storing said captured runtime environment and said recordedsession workflow associated with said detected activity in a container;creating an image of said container; and saving said container image ina repository to be shared among users.
 2. The method as recited in claim1 further comprising: saving external dependencies of applicationsrunning in said container in an external dependency map.
 3. The methodas recited in claim 2 further comprising: checking said externaldependencies before loading said container image in a computingenvironment.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sessionworkflow is marked by multiple checkpoints set by said user during asession, wherein said captured runtime environment comprises anapplication operating runtime with required application components. 5.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein a different user performs afurther event in response to replaying said session workflow which isrecorded in said container image.
 6. The method as recited in claim 5further comprising: saving said container image with said recordedfurther event in said repository to be shared among users.
 7. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein said activity comprises one of thefollowing: application usage, web browsing, printing and electroniccommunication.
 8. A computer program product for achieving activitycentric computing, the computer program product comprising one or morecomputer readable storage mediums having program code embodiedtherewith, the program code comprising programming instructions for:detecting an activity performed by a user on a computing device;capturing a runtime environment and recording a session workflowassociated with said detected activity in response to detecting saidactivity performed by said user on said computing device, wherein saidsession workflow comprises a flow of events performed by said user onsaid computing device; storing said captured runtime environment andsaid recorded session workflow associated with said detected activity ina container; creating an image of said container; and saving saidcontainer image in a repository to be shared among users.
 9. Thecomputer program product as recited in claim 8, wherein the program codefurther comprises the programming instructions for: saving externaldependencies of applications running in said container in an externaldependency map.
 10. The computer program product as recited in claim 9,wherein the program code further comprises the programming instructionsfor: checking said external dependencies before loading said containerimage in a computing environment.
 11. The computer program product asrecited in claim 8, wherein said session workflow is marked by multiplecheckpoints set by said user during a session, wherein said capturedruntime environment comprises an application operating runtime withrequired application components.
 12. The computer program product asrecited in claim 8, wherein a different user performs a further event inresponse to replaying said session workflow which is recorded in saidcontainer image.
 13. The computer program product as recited in claim12, wherein the program code further comprises the programminginstructions for: saving said container image with said recorded furtherevent in said repository to be shared among users.
 14. The computerprogram product as recited in claim 8, wherein said activity comprisesone of the following: application usage, web browsing, printing andelectronic communication.
 15. A system, comprising: a memory for storinga computer program for achieving activity centric computing; and aprocessor connected to said memory, wherein said processor is configuredto execute program instructions of the computer program comprising:detecting an activity performed by a user on a computing device;capturing a runtime environment and recording a session workflowassociated with said detected activity in response to detecting saidactivity performed by said user on said computing device, wherein saidsession workflow comprises a flow of events performed by said user onsaid computing device; storing said captured runtime environment andsaid recorded session workflow associated with said detected activity ina container; creating an image of said container; and saving saidcontainer image in a repository to be shared among users.
 16. The systemas recited in claim 15, wherein the program instructions of the computerprogram further comprise: saving external dependencies of applicationsrunning in said container in an external dependency map.
 17. The systemas recited in claim 16, wherein the program instructions of the computerprogram further comprise: checking said external dependencies beforeloading said container image in a computing environment.
 18. The systemas recited in claim 15, wherein said session workflow is marked bymultiple checkpoints set by said user during a session, wherein saidcaptured runtime environment comprises an application operating runtimewith required application components.
 19. The system as recited in claim15, wherein a different user performs a further event in response toreplaying said session workflow which is recorded in said containerimage.
 20. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein the programinstructions of the computer program further comprise: saving saidcontainer image with said recorded further event in said repository tobe shared among users.